AFP blocks 45kg shipment of Mexican methamphetamine destined for Melbourne’s streets

A cartel’s audacious bid to flood Australia with methamphetamine has been foiled by the Australian Federal Police in a transnational operation.

Exclusive: A massive methamphetamine shipment from Mexico has been blocked from hitting the streets in Australia by a transnational police operation.

News Corp can reveal Australian Federal Police officers in Mexico uncovered plans for a drug cartel to move 45 kilograms of the dangerous drug to Melbourne earlier this month.

They had the air cargo shipment intercepted on April 16 by local customs authorities in Hong Kong, where several packages of meth were detected in a thermoforming machine, which is used to mould plastic into particular shapes.

Mexican drug bust by AFP in Hong Kong. Picture: AFP

The drugs were bound for Melbourne. Picture: AFP

The investigation into the criminal syndicate responsible for moving the drugs is continuing.

AFP Detective Superintendent Patrick Gordon said the seizure was evidence of a growing trend of drugs being moved by Central American cartels to Australia through other Asian countries.

“Hong Kong is a popular transit point for shipments coming from Central America as we have seen in the past, including a record 1.8 tonne liquid meth seizure also destined for Australia,” Det-Supt Gordon said.

The AFP have intercepted drugs being shipped to Melbourne in Hong Kong. Picture: AFP

“Unfortunately drug cartels continue to target Australia in response to the high demand for illicit drugs but the AFP and its international network of more than 200 personnel in 33 countries stand ready to counter this harmful trade.”

The major seizure comes after a News Corp investigation revealed how Mexican cartels were trying to flood Australia with meth and cocaine to profit from sky-high street prices, prompting outlaw motorcycle gangs to expand their trafficking operations in North America.

A single hit of ice is sold for $100 or more in some Australian states, far higher than street prices in most other countries.

Det-Supt Gordon said international criminal syndicates cared “only about lining their pockets, not the irreversible harm they cause”.

“This methamphetamine had the potential to cause significant harm to the Australian community,” he said.

“This seizure demonstrates the importance of the AFP’s international partnerships in keeping Australians safe at home.”